NCBA president Steve Foglesong addresses the membership during the Opening General Session.

After a year of challenges, Steve Foglesong, says he’s proud of the organization he leads. “NCBA didn’t waiver,” he said. “We buckled down and went to work.”

A good example of those challenges was the GIPSA rule.”It’s not done,” Foglesong said. NCBA stressed the importance of a legitimate economic analysis, which is currently being done. “If the rules are not right, we are going to court,” he said. “I am not going to let them turn this industry back 50 years.”

A success for the organization was the repeal of the estate tax for another two years. “We’ve worked for 25 years on the death tax. Now, we have a two year window for people to get their estates in order, at the very least. We have a stake in the ground and can now go for a total repeal.”

Sometimes, the organization’s successes are what’s not in the news, he said. A good example is the recent announcement of new nutritional guidelines. Earlier drafts of the guidelines encouraged consumers to move toward a plant-based diet. But with diligent work, based on science, the guidelines abandoned that route, he said.

Fogelsong also brought up the audit issue and was frank with producers about it. “It took a lot of energy, but it is done,” he said. The organization can now move forward and there are many issues that NCBA plans to address in the coming year. Foglesong invited producers to step up and work through the issues. “If there is something you don’t like,” he said, “change it.”